The night that followed Meredith's feckless behavior was clear and calming. Hayden sat outside Meredith's shed pouring over a book on steam locomotives with only a small, old oil lantern to light the dusty pages. The book had everything he needed to know regarding the technical functions of an engine, but it didn't have what he needed. He needed something that could explain why his engine behaved so carelessly. The driver had a stack beside him of even more books that were just as useless when it came to engine mannerisms. It's as if no one took the time to learn how these machines truly worked aside from how to keep them running. Hayden let out an exhausted breath and leaned back against the door. He glanced at his timepiece. Midnight. The driver grunted in frustration as he dragged his hands over his face. That was when he remembered.

"Dr. Blackman! Dr. Blackmaan!" Hayden pounded on the engine inspector's door. By the time he made it to Doncaster where Dr. Blackman lived, it was nearly dawn. "Dr. Blackman, please! Please, I need to talk to you!" The door opened and he saw a set of sharp, tired eyes staring him down. "Please, sir, I really need to speak with you." There was a sigh, but the door opened fully and Hayden stepped inside.

The inside of Dr. Blackman's house was just as Hayden would expect. Covered wall-to-wall in engine schematics and photographs. He had shelves bursting with scale models of both steam and diesel engines. Books cluttered any flat surface and the whole place smelled of mothballs and old parchment, but it was cozy. A place where a man as inquisitive as its owner could easily sit and ponder comfortably whatever questions or problems he may be faced with. Hayden sat at a small dining table in the inspector's kitchen as Dr. Blackman poured them both a cup of fresh tea. The driver was visibly nervous. He had never just burst into another man's house unannounced before and he was skeptical of the inspector's hospitality at such an early hour.

Dr. Blackman set Hayden's tea on the table in front of him and made obvious a small dish of sugar lumps should the driver desire before he sat down at his place across from Hayden. He was wearing a plush robe over his sleepwear along with well-worn house slippers, but he still managed to look more put together than the bleary-eyed driver. "So," the inspector said. His voice carried a hint of exhaustion unsurprisingly. "What exactly is so pressing you had to call so bloody early?"

Hayden swallowed and gave his teacup a nervous tap of his fingers. "Well… it's about my engine, Meredith. You remember inspecting her?"

Dr. Blackman took a sip. "Yes, yes. A lovely young tank engine. Very playful."

"That's putting it lightly." Hayden laughed awkwardly. Dr. Blackman kept straight. "Anyway, she's gotten herself into a lot of trouble recently, and she seems to just keep digging her hole. I just don't understand why she can't be sensible."

"I don't suppose this has anything to do with the recent dispute between those two A3s outside London." Hayden simply nodded. "So is it safe to say they were fighting over her?" Another nod. Dr. Blackman finally cracked a smile. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised. Locomotives can become quite brutal when allowed to engage in physical behaviors."

"I can see that, but I'm not too concerned with those two. I'm worried about Meredith. She's completely reckless. And it's caused all kinds of chaos- obviously." Dr. Blackman kept silent. Hayden ran a sweaty hand through his hair. "I've exhausted every possible book I could find on steam engines but it was all just- just… technical!"

The inspector snorted. "And you assumed I would be able to help better than these books because?"

"Because you clearly have a fascination for engines that delves beyond the mechanics." That made Dr. Blackman smile.

"You're right. I do." He paused, leaning back in his chair. "Do you know what my doctorate is in, Hayden?" The driver shrugged. "Biology. I spent years researching woodland creatures and sea mammals, but after so much time out in the field and traveling I realized something; there was one species that not a single one of my peers dared approach."

"Engines?"

"Exactly." The inspector said with an enthusiastic wave of his finger. "They've been dismissed as mere machines despite all the evidence of the contrary. So I spent some time brushing up on their mechanics, landed an inspection license, and now all my waking hours are used to study them. They're quite fascinating. I mean, when was the last time you just sat back and watched your engine, hm?"

Hayden pondered for a moment. "I never really thought about it."

"Well next chance you get, do it. You'd be surprised how little you actually know about her."

At Arlesburgh, Alex had already warmed Meredith's firebox and unlocked her shed, but Hayden was nowhere to be seen. Alex tried to call his apartment multiple times, but there was no answer. The fireman propped himself against Meredith's footboards. "That man, I swear."

"He's never late like this." Meredith said. Again, Emerson was already gone for the day so it was just the two of them and her fireman was growing increasingly impatient. "Maybe we should just go on?"

"Without a driver?" Alex scoffed. "Don't be absurd."

"Meredith! Slow down!" Alex fumbled about in her cab. He couldn't figure out which lever was the engine's brake as she barreled down the line towards Knapford. "Meredith!" All he could hear was the engine's excited giggles and the thunder of her pistons. She was thrilled to have a chance to drive herself once again and paid no heed to the speed limit as she flew straight through Knapford junction and into the shunting yard.

Meredith stopped just short of a line of coal cars and Alex stumbled from her cab with a chorus of foreign swearing the engine couldn't understand. The tank engine sat quietly as Alex began to fill her with water. His German grumbling persisted and judging by his tone Meredith was thankful she couldn't understand him. She was sure the brunt of his angry mumbling was about her.

A few moments later, Hayden appeared in the yard. His eyes were dark from not having slept, but he was surprisingly chipper. The driver climbed aboard his engine and was met with a set of furious green eyes. "Where the hell have you been?! This psychotic engine tried to kill me!"

"But she didn't succeed, now did she?" Hayden teased as he began his usual inspections.

Alex stared at his crew mate for a hot minute before letting out a dramatic sigh. He didn't even care to ask where Hayden had been, he was just thankful he wouldn't have to drive Meredith anymore that day.

At Vicarstown, Kenneth was perusing a catalog of tools while Gordon napped on the platform. The engine had tasked his driver with a rather unique request and while the man was savvy when it came to the basics of keeping his engine running, his skills beyond that were mediocre at best. But it wasn't often that Gordon asked for help so how could he say no?

Sean sat across from Kenneth munching on a tea cake. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"It's not." Kenneth replied plainly as he turned the page. "But what else am I to do?"

"Tell him no?" Sean raised his shoulders and a small crumb of cake fell from his lips.

Kenneth glanced up from the catalog at his chipmunk-cheeked fireman. "Do I look suicidal?"

"What? I'm just saying," Sean finally swallowed so his voice was no longer pillowy with food. "Maybe Gordon being paneled is a good thing."

"How so?"

"Well does he really need to be fooling around at all? I mean he's a steam engine for Christ's sake!" Sean tried to keep his voice low. "He's meant to work."

Kenneth shook his head. "You really need to learn a little more about engines, Sean. He's not just some dumb work-horse with no other purpose or feelings. Have you no compassion, man?"

The fireman slumped in his chair, casting his gaze towards Gordon. The big engine was in a steady sleep. His steam rose and fell with his breathing. He then glanced at the catalog in Kenneth's hand. "You don't need to look at any expensive tools. Just a nice flat chisel and a mallet will be enough to pop those rivets off." Kenneth looked at his fireman with a raised brow. Sean kept on. "You do need something to cut through those welds, however. And a tool like that doesn't come cheap."

"Would the Steamworks have what we need?" Kenneth set the catalog down.

"Obviously. They were the ones who put the damn thing on." Sean sneered.

Kenneth peered over at Gordon. The big engine shuddered, but didn't open his eyes. Then the driver leaned close to his fireman. "You feelin' up to doing something really stupid?"

Over in the yard at Vicarstown, Hayden decided to let Meredith work alone while he sat off to the side. Alex had to stay in her cab just to keep her up to temp, which he greatly protested, but after a little persuading the fireman reluctantly agreed. The driver watched his engine zip around the sun-bathed yard with Rosie. In his hands was a heavy notebook full of observations and hypotheses made by Dr. Blackman. The inspector had allowed Hayden to borrow it to help aid in his quest at better understanding of his engine's behavior.

Hayden watched Meredith pause for a moment to give her boiler a shake. He remembered what Dr. Blackman said about the occasional shaking. It usually meant something made the engine uncomfortable so the driver scanned the yard. That was when he noticed Spencer had settled onto a siding and was passing wayward glances to Rosie. Hayden took out his own journal and made a quick note. Then he watched Spencer. The big engine had a smug grin painted across his face and he noticed the A4 would give a heavy puff of steam anytime Rosie drew near. Another note. A second glance to Meredith and he noticed her watching Rosie carefully. He quickly realized his engine was quite skittish with the way she moved so tightly and how her eyes were always darting around. How had he not noticed that before? Hayden had not long to dwell on the new discovery because as Henry entered the yard, Meredith let out a high-pitched peep on her whistle that Henry returned with a puff of steam similar to what Spencer did when he saw Rosie.

Hayden rolled his pencil between his fingers. There was so much to figure out. He didn't realize that engines were as nuanced and complex as people and he certainly didn't know what to make of the strange body movements and non-uniform whistles. Dr. Blackman had explained that Meredith's self-destructive behavior was likely an issue of her age. He believed she was testing her limits the same way a young child does with their parents. Hayden wasn't convinced that was all, however, but he figured it was a start.

It was when Flying Scotsman unexpectedly rolled into the yard that Meredith's demeanor took a drastic turn. Her steam output increased substantially as the big engine made his way over to her and she bounced around on her wheels. Hayden bolted out into the yard while Scotsman closed in on his little engine. He was whispering quietly to her and he could see her begin to wobble. "Meredith! You stay away from that engine!" Hayden quickly put himself between his engine and Flying Scotsman. The big engine glared down at the annoying driver.

"Out of my way!" Scotsman growled. Hayden noticed a large amount of fluid leaking from the LNER engine's undercarriage, but he couldn't place what specifically it was coming from.

"You're not even supposed to be on Sodor anymore." Hayden had climbed up onto Meredith's fender so he could look the blistering A3 in the eye. "Now go away."

"I'm not going anywhere." Scotsman tried to keep a level tone, but there was an empty siding with his and Meredith's names on it and he wasn't about to let a tiny human get in the way of his date.

"This isn't up for debate." Hayden crossed his arms and leaned closer to Scotsman's face. "Now go." The big engine's boiler rumbled threateningly. Hayden swallowed, his mouth felt dry but he held his ground. If Meredith couldn't make smart decisions on her own, then it was his job to make them for her. He let her get away with her affair with Spencer, but he wasn't a homicidal maniac like the engine before him.

Flying Scotsman backed away a few feet. Spencer and Rosie had stopped their flirting to watch the ordeal and the big engine didn't like all the staring. He looked back at Meredith and she dropped her gaze. Scotsman came to the conclusion that he would not be getting lucky that day. He huffed his steam in annoyance at the pesky driver and he saw Meredith mouth 'I'm sorry' to him. This helped the big engine feel better, but only slightly. Scotsman shot another scowl towards Hayden before he reversed out of the yard.

Hayden turned to face his engine. He raised a hand to reprimand her, but her lip started to quiver and her eyes glassed over. Hayden sighed and instead gave her smoke box a gentle pat then returned to Meredith's cab. She's young… Hayden thought to himself. She'll learn. Eventually.

I decided to give the humans a little love this chapter and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I hope y'all don't mind! They're along for this wild ride just as much as their engines so it makes sense, I feel.

Todays note is short and sweet! I hope y'all are still enjoying and I'll see you in the next installment!

Much love;

Bumble

Racefangurl; yeah, Scotsman winced from the pain. And my son's name is actually Erik. Lol. He was just playing with a toy Spencer. He has a lot of engines like me, but my collection is not to be meddled with. Lmao